Slipped Through

July 22, 1991

Examples of men hired as police officers with criminal pasts or falsehoods on their resumes:

WILLIAM PREEN

Resigned from the Manatee County Sheriff`s Office in March 1990 after admitting that he repeatedly sexually molested a young girl in his care in Minnesota. Preen, a five-year veteran, admitted his crime once the victim told her story. No charges were filed because a three-year statute of limitations had passed. Preen has agreed to surrender his police license.

JAMES D. RUSSELL

Left the Florida Highway Patrol in April 1990 after less than four months on the job. He had stated on his application that he used marijuana ``off and on`` up to a few years before he applied. Faced with a lie detector test, he admitted smoking pot 1,000 times, selling and cultivating it, acting as a middleman in a marijuana deal and transporting a small amount of the drug across state lines. He has agreed to turn in his certificate.

FRANCIS J. POWERS III

Terminated from the Mangonia Park Police Department for an ``unsatisfactory job performance`` in August 1989, records state. After he left, police were tipped off to doubts about his resume. Powers claimed he was trained at and worked for a New Jersey department before moving to Florida.

In fact, the New Jersey agency declined to hire him after he took a psychological exam. His training certificates also were forgeries, records state. No criminal charges were filed against Powers, but he has decided not to fight to save his police license.